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The new 27,331-square-foot Learning Center at Missouri State University’s William H. Darr Agricultural Center will be named for former Missouri Senator Christopher S. “Kit” Bond. The Christopher S. Bond Learning Center will be officially dedicated during a ceremony June 17 with Bond in attendance.

The Missouri State Board of Governors took the action today (May 12) at its regular meeting in Springfield. According to the resolution passed by the Board, the naming is to honor Bond’s “long and distinguished career in public service,” and “his advocacy for agriculture in Missouri and at Missouri State.”

“It is an honor to have my name associated with a center that will improve agriculture not only in the Ozarks, but throughout Missouri and around the world,” said Bond. “Missouri State University is preparing tomorrow’s leaders in agriculture and I am proud to have been a part of that important effort.”

The Bond Learning Center, which is being completed this month, is one of the major facilities at the Darr Agricultural Center. It will house offices, a laboratory, two classrooms and a large multi-purpose room suitable for meetings, banquets and other functions. It will provide a valuable resource, not only for Missouri State University’s William H. Darr School of Agriculture, but also for the entire region.

The Bond Learning Center was completed at a total cost of $6.8 million through a combination of university resources, private gifts and federal funds. The Missouri Congressional delegation, led by Senator Bond, successfully pursued federal support of the Darr Agricultural Center to enhance the state’s agriculture industry.

“Over the years, there has been no better advocate for the State of Missouri and the agriculture industry than Senator Bond,” said Elizabeth Bradbury, chair of the Board. “Missouri State certainly benefited from his knowledge, his persistence and his legislative skill for those 24 years in the United States Senate. It is a great pleasure for the Board and university to recognize him in this way.”

A sixth generation Missourian, Bond was born in St. Louis and grew up in Mexico, Mo., where he lives today. Bond graduated cum laude from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University and received his law degree from the University of Virginia, where he graduated first in his class.

During his decades of public service, Bond earned a reputation as a skilled statesman able to build coalitions and work across party lines to achieve results. He retired in 2010 after serving four terms in the United States Senate from 1986-2011, where he was known for his work with the military and agriculture. Bond also served as Missouri State auditor (1971-73) and two-terms as governor of Missouri (1973-77, 1981-85). Bond’s ascension to the governor’s office in 1973 at age 33 makes him the youngest ever to hold that office.

“You would have to look long and hard to find an elected official who has better represented the interests of Missouri over a lifetime than Senator Bond,” said Missouri State President James E. Cofer Sr. “We are honored to have his name permanently associated with Missouri State University.”